Page 34 of Meet Me in the Valley
A small gasp slips out before I can stop it, my eyes sweeping over Logan’s scratchy handwriting again and again,like rereading it might somehow make it more real. Like I need to be sure I’m not imagining what it says.
“H-how? How did you do this?”
“I told you I’d take care of it. I booked you a flight, T. You leave at the end of the week.”
I tear my eyes away from the paper and look at him in shock. “W-what? You … y—” I stutter. “You booked me a flight? Logan … No. It’s too much. I, I?—”
“Tia. Listen to me.” He gently holds my face between his strong hands. “You said you’re ready. It’s time. You’re doing this.”
My chin trembles, my eyes burn, and my throat swells. It’s fear mixed with complete adoration for this man.
I’m done for.
“But what about work? We’re flying back tomorrow. We have the Mueller project? We?—”
Logan shakes his head. “I took care of it. Roy said the project isn’t starting for another couple of weeks. I told him you have a personal family matter to attend to—which you do—and that you’ll be in contact with him on your return.”
Unlimited PTO truly helps in this situation, but I still stand there in utter shock. Logan took care of all of this for me? He says he doesn’t do relationships. He says he’s not capable. But everything hedoessays the opposite.
And that’s got me reeling off the deep end.
“You’ll just have to take care of the PTO stuff in your portal, since I don’t have your information for that. If I had it, I would’ve done it for you. But other than that, everything is booked. I even got you in a nice suite at the hotel there,” he says, pointing at the paper.
Vermillion Sands Hotel.
“Logan,” I whisper, still staring at the note. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“You could start by telling me I’m the best,” he says with that perfectly crooked grin. The look of my undoing.
I laugh softly. “You’re the best. Seriously … thank you.”
Then I lean in and press a kiss to his cheek, lingering just long enough to feel the warmth rise beneath his skin. When I pull back, he’s blushing—and it’s my new favorite thing.
Clearing his throat, he picks up a spare helmet hanging on his handlebars. “I thought we could go for a ride before we head over? You know, take the long way.”
My entire face smiles. “I’d love that more than anything.” I pocket the note into my little crossbody bag for safekeeping.
“May I?” Logan asks with a lift of the helmet. I nod enthusiastically, causing him to chuckle under his breath.
“I love how much you love to ride. It’s one of my favorite things about you.” He fits the not-so-flattering helmet on my head, gently fastening the buckle under my chin as I watch his mouth and appreciate his full, pink lips.
“There,” he breathes. “These helmets aren’t as cool as the ones I have back in Austin. We can’t talk to each other through them, but it’ll do the job.”
“How do I look?” I ask, hands on my hips, throwing him a coy glance as I turn my head from side to side.
Logan doesn’t answer right away. He just stares—eyes locked on mine long enough to make my breath hitch. Then he looks away, a barely there shake of his head and the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips. Still silent, he straddles his bike.
I fall in step behind him, sliding on like a muscle memory, pressed against his back like it’s my favorite place to be.
The engine growls to life beneath us, and the familiar rush hits—blood pumping faster, excitement rising in my chest like it always does when I’m with him like this.
My arms wrap around his waist, and without even thinking, I rest my chin on his shoulder like I’ve done a hundred times before.
I catch the faintest mumble from him, and another small shake of his head, but the engine drowns out whatever he’s saying. I tap my fingers lightly against his stomach as we start to move.
“Did you say something?” I call over the wind, raising my voice as the speed picks up.
He glances back at me, and instead of answering, his free hand slides back—fingers wrapping gently around the back of my calf, holding me there like he doesn’t want me going anywhere.
